Dean Cain Is Taking on the Armenian Genocide

As the actor's new project makes clear, the persecution of Middle Eastern Christians is no longer being ignored

Former Superman Dean Cain is taking on a much more serious subject than most men in tights these days. The actor has produced a new film, “Architects of Denial,” which delves into the Armenian genocide and the denial by the Turkish government and other authoritative bodies that atrocities ever took place.

“Armenians have been persecuted for centuries. It’s unreal,” Cain told “Fox & Friends” recently when discussing his upcoming project. “They were the first bastion of Christianity. They were the first country to, I think, recognize Christianity, and they are the only bastion of Christianity in the Middle East.”

It was during and after World War I that the Ottoman Empire carried out the killing of what is estimated by many to be 1.5 million Armenian citizens, including women and children. To this day, the Armenian people are persecuted in the Middle East for their beliefs — and many are kept from their true home.

Turkey, which was the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, denies using the word genocide to describe the historical deaths of Armenians, and many other governments officially deny the atrocities as well, likely due to political pressure.

"Turkey has gone around the world aggressively lobbying to make sure there are no references to the Armenian genocide," said Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange in the recently released trailer for "Architects of Denial."

"Architects of Denial" not only digs into the persecution of Armenians and Christians in the Middle East, both past and present, but it also sheds light on those politicians who refuse to acknowledge an event many historians and scholars accept as a sad reality.

The trailer shows camera crews confronting two Democratic members of Congress, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas and Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee.

"Do you deny that the Armenian genocide happened?" asks one of the filmmakers of Rep. Johnson.

She replies, "I do deny that."

Though both the historical and modern-day persecution of Armenians and Christians is relatively uncovered in the mainstream media and not on the radar of many average Americans, it is a subject that has gotten far more attention in recent years.

Along with Cain's upcoming film — set for release in October — there is also "The Promise," a $90 million epic starring Christian Bale and Jason Isaacs, which is currently in theaters. It takes place during the Armenian genocide and was completely financed by the late Kirk Kerkorian, a businessman of Armenian descent, who had reportedly donated more than $1 billion to Armenian charities during his lifetime.